The best sleep apps for a good night's rest

The beauty of technology is that a restful night is now just an app away

As we get older, the things we want in life gradually start to become simpler — i.e. less of a social life and more sleep. It's practical, better for our skin, and prevents us from dozing off at our desks.

If you thought your smartphone was the reason you were awake all night, you're probably half right. The incessant tabs on your work inbox and the endless scrolling through your Instagram feed isn't exactly healthy or beneficial for the quality of your sleep.

But here's how your device could be a double-edged sword — all thanks to power of technology, there are a ton of sleep apps available out there to track your sleeping habits, improve the quality of your snooze, or even ease the perils of waking up in the morning. So whether you're struggling with mild insommia or trying to clock in more hours for the new year, here are five apps to keep on your home screen.

Power Nap App Perfect for those who love naps

Research shows daytime sleeping (between 15 and 90 minutes) can improve brain functions and creative processes. If you work in one of those trendy offices with designated nap couches, the Power Nap App is perfect for you. This app comes with a nap timer that only lasts 30 minutes, and is aided with built-in calming sounds to enable you to fall asleep faster.

Not sure if your snoring habits are getting out of hand? Here's an app that will give you that answer. Pillow allows you to record sound as you're asleep, to indicate how bad or serious your situation is. On top of the recordings, it also tracks your sleep to measure if you're in light sleep, deep sleep, or in an REM (Rapid Eye Movement) phase, along with a heart rate analysis.

Haven't been sleeping well? Sleep Better uses sensors on your smartphone to track your movements throughout the night and analyses the quality of sleep by the hour. It also provides you a platform to note down any variables that could be affecting your sleep; for instance, if you drank an extra cup of coffee or exceeded your alcohol intake for the day.

White noise isn't supposed to be music to your ears, but it does help you fall asleep faster. The magic lies in its monotonous and dead-boring structure, which allows your brain to block out any unwanted sounds that keep you from sleeping. This app, Noisli, helps you generate white noises — with an offline soundbard of various types of white noises that you can personally mix. Custom your very own and then set a fade-out timer as you drift off to sleep — it's that easy.

Sleep Cycle Alarm ClockPerfect for those who have problems waking up in the morning

We get it, waking up can be the worst — especially the exact moment when your daily morning alarm goes off. The reason why it's so hard to pry ourselves out of bed is probably because we're often in deep sleep when that happens. With Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock, its intuitive sensors detect the sounds that determine what stage of sleep you're in, so that its alarm will only set off during the time we're in light sleep. Who knows, you might just wake up feeling less of a zombie, and more like a decent human being.